crypto

Probably going to take my car in to the dealership tomorrow...

I was getting on a highway and going ~35-40 and was in DS mode. I gunned it a bit to get up to speed and probably right around 50-55 the car about choked. It felt like the car was shifting poorly/hard and it I believe it stuck me in limp mode (at first I thought I had lost traction but that was not the case). I got reduced power and immediately pulled over and turned off the car. Waited a few minutes.. turned it back on and started up fine. Check control show everything is OK. I drove home without pushing the pedal too hard but in line with the speed limit had the car at 55-60 MPH the rest of the drive (3-4 minutes).

When close to home I decide to just give it one more slight acceleration boost to see how we were doing .. prob around 25-30 MPH it did a slightly lighter version of the hard shift and I just let off the gas to not push it any further. No limp mode or light came on but I'm guessing if I kept accelerating it would have. Despite nothing in the main console, I checked the codes on the computer (via ODBII) and it has two that show up related to Fuel Pressure and one for a Cylinder issue.

What do you guys think this is here? Part of my is really hoping this is not HPFP related and the other part of me is hoping it is.. otherwise what else is it? FWIW I had a fuel injector go bad on me about 16,000 miles ago. My car is still under 30,000 total miles.

Any recommendations besides just taking it to the dealer? Should I consider clearing the codes and driving around some more to see if they creep back or is that a bad idea?

Jim165

If you are under warranty, why are you hoping that it is not a HPFP or injector? Why try to fix it yourself if you have a warranty? It could be a myriad of the common issues with these cars, so just take it in and ease your mind about it. I'm guessing its probably a bad injector or the HPFP if you are getting fuel-related codes. Since there has just been newly designed injectors introduced, all of yours will have to be replaced if that's the issue. If I were you, I'd be out there beating my car like a rented mule to ensure all of the potential problems are found and corrected while I was still under warranty. Best of luck to you...

tonyb635

First of all, if it's still under warranty, then take it in and let them repair it. I doubt its the HPFP, injector or the low press sensor, I've had all three on my 08 535 and although most of the time you will get the 1/2 eng pwr you also will have a serious stumbling problem which all of them were noticed at low rpm in my case.

I've had the indication you describe and this was three times after installing the inJen cold air system. I don't know exactly if it was related to the system or perhaps I caused it myself during the install. It wasn't noticed until a few weeks later. Took it off and took it to the dealer. First time they said it was some kind of vacuum sensor or something to the turbos, second time it was a vacuum line in the same area I assume. Third time I took that damn system off and sold it. The light went out and I've not seen it in the last year!

Out of the fuel system issues that I had all gave a 1/2 eng pwr and reset after car was turned off and rested for a while. The fuels sensor was the only one that seem to go away but returned the next day. All three came with stumbling that will get your attention.

Do you have a code reader? If not, you might be able to read it at your local part store as long as the 1/2 pwr light or CE is on. When I first got this and it went out, there reader couldn't see it anymore...

AchtungE60

Don't deal with it, take it in. It's a 2010 and 30K miles right?

crypto

yeah - I already took it in.. awaiting the diagnosis still.

Got a new 328xi as a loaner. Only 100 miles on it when I got it. I definitely prefer the turbo(s) from the 335i loaners I've received but I can't complain having a temporary car that's lower mileage than almost everything else I've ever driven.

crypto

Here's the fun report:

Two trips to the dealer. I guess the codes the first time lead them to replace something that did not fix the problem. A few days after getting the car back I started having the same issues. This time while ~25 miles from the dealership and I couldn't get the car out of Reduced Power. However, it was driving fine and I was able to make it all the way back to the dealership despite this..

This time they got codes that allowed them to verify the issue.. and replace... wait for it... the HPFP. Oh joy! ;-) I will start adding this to my list of items against the 535 in the E60 535 vs 550 debate threads that pop up every few months. In any event, car drives beautifully again, so I am happy minus the inconvenience. While I enjoy a short change of pace with a loaner car, I don't think I can ever own a 3 series. Very happy to get back in the 5.

luigi524td

I'm glad your dealer "fixed" it this time ... but it's disconcerting the HPFP issues remain out there.

turboawd

will bmw ever get the kinks out of the high pressure fuel systems?

Mike_K

They really have. The pumps are way better now than they were before, almost to the point that you just don't hear about them failing. Your Cobb Access Port puts a lot more strain on the pump too. I get occasional hiccuping with my JB4 but if I turn it off I get nothing.

When you kick the car's horsepower up by 100 it exposes any weaknesses as well as parts that were never intended to see that kind of sustained stress. So a fuel pump that might last 100k miles on a stock 535 might show issues on a 17k 535 that's modified just because you're exposing that problem.

As much as people want to blame BMW for the pump issues I think you have to cut them some slack when the car is modified.

crypto

I don't know enough to say if Cobb could have/did even remotely contribute to the failure. I also don't know if once it's started having issues whether or not it's doomed to fail or if it will chill out. I didn't have the Cobb installed when it finally went down hill. It had been "hiccuping" a few days earlier and I opted to keep it uninstalled.. mainly for the sake of saving time of removing/re-adding. When it finally head repeated issues to where I couldn't get it out of limp mode it hadn't been installed for a few days already and just took it straight to the dealer again.